State v. Queen (Episode)
State v. Queen Synopsis MOIRA FIGHTS FOR HER LIFE; THE COUNT RETURNS: Oliver (Stephen Amell) is concerned when a mysterious illness sweeps the city, infecting hundreds of people, including Diggle (David Ramsey). Oliver discovers Vertigo in Diggle's blood and realizes The Count (Guest Star Seth Gabel) has broken out of prison and is once again distributing his drug. Meanwhile, Moira (Susanna Thompson) goes on trial for her participation in The Undertaking. ADA Adam Donner (Guest Star Dylan Bruce) collapses in court with Vertigo symptoms so Laurel (Katie Cassidy) must step in and try the case against Moira. Oliver is torn between standing by his family during the trial and catching The Count. However, things change when Felicity (Emily Bett Rickards) follows a lead and walks straight into a trap set by The Count. Bethany Rooney Directed The episode Written by Marc Guggenheim & Drew Z. Greenberg. Summary Six Months Ago Moira calls a press conference to explain her part in the Undertaking and to warn the people of the Glades to evacuate before the earthquake hits. At the prison, the guards get the word to evacuate without releasing the prisoners. Count Vertigo is in his cell reading a book when the earthquake hits, shattering his cell door. The Count strolls out and takes the door keys from a dead guard. As he makes his escape, Count Vertigo ignores most of the clamoring prisoners, but sees the Dollmaker and decides that he has potential. He tosses the keys to the serial kill and then leaves through a gap in the wall. Oliver and Thea arrive at the courthouse for Moira's trial and are harassed by the press. As Laurel and Adam watch, Laurel points out that Moira is the one on trial, not her children. Adam is surprisingly confident that he'll get a conviction, pointing out that Moira confessed on live television, and Laurel realizes that he knows something that she doesn't even though she's his second chair. The DA assures her that it will be a good trial, and they go inside. Oliver spots Laurel and glances at her for a moment. Four Years Ago, Professor Ivo and The Captain take a squad of mercenaries to the island and go to the wrecked plane with Sara and a captive Oliver. The mercenaries open fire on the plane, riddling the inside with bullets, and then confirm that no one was inside. Ivo has the men plant an explosive device to eliminate any chance of retreat and then the group moves on. Inside the plane, Shado manages to defuse the bomb with seconds to spare. Once she's done, Shado insists on going after Oliver and the wounded Slade tells her that he's going with her no matter what. As they go up the stairs to the courtroom, Diggle wavers briefly but tells Oliver that he's fine. Unconvinced, Oliver tells him to get some rest and Diggle reluctantly leaves. Once the spectators have all entered the courtroom, Moira comes and glances at Oliver and Thea. Adam then begins his opening statement to the jury, playing the tape of Moira's on-air confession. He argues that her remorse came too late for all of the people killed in the quake. For her opening statement, Jean plays the later part of the tape when Moira says that Merlyn threatened her and her family if she didn't help him. When Diggle returns to Oliver's office, Felicity takes one look at him and tells him to go home. He assures her that he's had his flu shots and Felicity admits that she hasn't. As Diggle tries to call a replacement, he collapses. Count Vertigo meets with the pharmacist that he's hired for a special project. The pharmacist hands over a brief case with the results and demands another $50,000. The Count responds by injecting him with an overdose of Vertigo, and tells him that the man is lucky: everyone else will beg for their suffering to end. Felicity calls Oliver about Diggle's condition. When he arrives, she tells him that she took a blood sample and confirmed that Diggle has been dosed with the Vertigo drug. Felicity has also confirmed that Count Vertigo escaped during the quake and the prison authorities hushed it up to avoid a panic. Oliver gives her a dose of the cure for Vertigo that he's developed and tells her to give it to Diggle and then work out how he was dosed without his knowledge. Adam calls Thea to the stand and questions her under oath to why she didn't visit her own mother for five months. As he questions her, Adam feels a wave of dizziness. Thea says that she needed time to come to terms with her anger before she could forgive Moira, and Adam says that the jury shouldn't forgive Moira, either. As he prepares for the next question, Adam collapses. Oliver leads Ivo and his men to the cave where the Japanese soldiers are located. Ivo searches them and demands to know where the hosen arrowhead rock is. Oliver doesn't answer and the Captain prepares to blow off Oliver's hand if he doesn't talk. Shado and Slade emerge from the jungle and order Ivo and his men to surrender. While the EMTs take Adam to the ambulance, Oliver checks with Thea and confirms that she's okay after the DA's grueling testimony. The ambulance leaves... with Count Vertigo at the wheel. Inside, Jean talks to the Queens and tells Moira that she has to testify because of Thea's testimony. Moira refuses and Oliver asks for a moment alone with her. Once he gets it, he asks why she's lying and points out that's what has torn their family apart in the past. Moira warns that her testimony will destroy their family, but Oliver says that it's time for the truth. That night at the lair, a weakened Diggle is watching the news. Oliver arrives and Felicity tells him that the Count altered the Vertigo drug so that the antidote no longer works. Count Vertigo breaks in on all of the channels and shows everyone that he is holding Adam prisoner. He then explains that Adam and all of the other sufferers have been exposed to a highly painful drug that can only be cured with injections of Vertigo. The Count will be glad to sell it to them. Adam finally cracks from the pain and begs for relief, and the Count injects him with the drug. Once the transmission ends, Oliver vows to find Count Vertigo and shut him down for good. Felicity tries to trace the signal without success, and Oliver tells her to go over the video and see if she can find any visual or audio clues in the background. As for the contaminant, they realize that whatever Count Vertigo used dosed some people but not others. Once Adam's abduction is confirmed, DA Kate Spencer calls Laurel in and tells her that she'll now be handling Moira's trial. Laurel is shocked at the news and Spencer tells her that she'll do fine. To prepare for the trial, Laurel goes through Adam's files and finds the secret information about Moira that he was withholding. When Roy visits Thea, he finds her upset at how her testimony may have doomed her mother. He gives her a pair of boxing gloves and tells her to hit him and vent her anger. Roy admits that he became a vigilante in part to release his own anger, and figures that she has a lot of her own. Thea reluctantly starts poking at him and Roy goads her into hitting him harder. She finally does and then collapses into Roy's arms, sobbing. Examining the video, Felicity spots a reflection in Adam's eyes and enhances it. It shows the city seal, and she realizes that the Count is headquarters at the abandoned Starling Municipal Records Department. Laurel visits Moira at Irongate Prison and warns her that she could be disbarred for what she's doing. She then insists that Moira can't testify in court, and if she does then Laurel will be forced to cross-examine her as best she can. She shows Moira Adam's file and warns that it could undermine Moira's entire defense. As Moira reads what the file shows, Laurel begs her not to testify... because it will force Laurel to destroy her and her family. At the abandoned city building, Arrow arrives to rescue Adam as Count Vertigo oversees the manufacture of his drug. The vigilante tells Adam to run and opens fire on the Count's men. However, Count Vertigo steps forward with his hostages and dares Arrow to shoot him, well aware that he has sworn off killing. When one of the Count's men grabs Adam as he heads for the door, the vigilante wounds the man with a knife, then fires an arrow into a propane tank, detonating it. He then uses the fire to cover his escape with Adam. The next day, Moira informs her children that she's going to testify in court. However, she warns them that Laurel knows the truth even if they don't. They demand answers and Moira finally tells them that when Robert was cheating on her, she cheated on him as well... with Malcolm Merlyn. Thea is furious, reminding Moira that she asked the same question a year ago and her mother lied to her. Moira insists that the affair was nothing. In court, Moira testifies on her own behalf about Malcolm's threats against her family. Laurel has no choice but to cross-examine, pointing out that Malcolm was friendly with Moira the entire time and with her under friendly circumstances. She asks why Malcolm didn't kill Walter and Moira admits that she interceded on his behalf. Laurel notes that Moira clearly could influence Malcolm despite the fact that he was supposedly threatening her life, and says that the only danger to Moira was Moira herself. After the hearing ends for the day, Laurel comes out of the courtroom and sees Oliver and Thea outside. When she tries to walk away, Oliver comes over and assures her that he knows how difficult it was for her. He asks if she's okay, and Laurel doesn't understand how anyone can forgive her for what she just did. Ivo demands that Shado and Slade confirm that they have the hosen so he can negotiate with him. One of his soldiers tries to shoot and Slade kills him. Realizing that he's been outmaneuvered, Ivo tells the Captain to cut Oliver loose. Oliver grabs Sara and then runs off with Shado and Slade. The Captain and his soldiers give choice only to discover that Shado has left their own explosive device behind... and it blows up in their faces. At the lair, Felicity tries to work out the pattern of the infected victims. Diggle has her check their work patterns rather than their homes and they realize that each of them visited a flu vaccination truck that drove through the city. Felicity confirms the truck's current location and Diggle insists on going to check it out because Oliver is dealing with his family crisis. However, he's unable to stand up and Felicity insists on going instead. She goes to the truck and discovers that the door is opened. Going inside, she finds vials of the Vertigo drug... just as the Count comes in behind her. Jean comes out to tell Oliver and Thea that the jury is about ready to render a verdict. Since it's so soon, the lawyer warns them to expect the worse. Oliver gets a call from Felicity and steps aside to answer it. However, it's the Count who answers, saying that he has Felicity captive and is using her phone. He's figured out that Oliver is Arrow. Oliver hangs up and tells a surprised Thea that he has to go. Oliver goes to his office wearing his costume but ignoring the hood. Count Vertigo is waiting for him and explains that someone else hates Arrow just as much as he did, and set up the Count's operation to lure him out. The drug lord opens fire on Oliver, who ducks for cover and slips around. Count Vertigo prepares to inject Felicity, who he's using as a human shield, and Oliver manages to shoot him in the chest, knocking him back and through the office window. Once Oliver confirms that Felicity is unharmed, he goes to the window and sees Count Vertigo's broken body on the street below. Afterward, Oliver returns to the courthouse and tells Thea that something came up at the office. Disappointed, she wonders what he would have done if there was a verdict while he was gone, and Oliver admits that he doesn't know. The jury comes out and everyone assembles in the courtroom. The clerk reads the verdict and announces that the jury has found Moira innocent on all charges. As the Queens share a hug, Laurel looks at them briefly and then leaves. Back at the lair, Oliver tells his friends that the verdict doesn't make sense. Felicity explains that they were able to create a new vaccine using the contaminated vaccine in the truck as a sample, creating a non-addictive treatment. Oliver tells the recovering Diggle to go home and gets some rest. Once the bodyguard leaves, Felicity thanks Oliver for rescuing him but apologizes for the fact that he had to kill someone to save her. Oliver assures her that there was no choice to make and that he's fine with what happened. Once their pursuers fall behind. Sara demands to know why Oliver rescued her. He points out that Ivo would have had her killed. When they explain that Ivo is looking for the hosen, Shado reveals that she took it with her from the plane. They examine it and discover that there are four numbers on one side: coordinates for the Japanese World War II sub. Sara insists that the miracle drug can save the human race, but Oliver is more concerned whether it can save Slade, who is clearly on his last legs due to his burns. Ivo and the Butcher find the wounded Captain crawling through the mud. Disappointed, the professor tells the Captain that he failed and shoots him dead, and then tells the Butcher that he's the new captain. As the news stations broadcast the Count's death, Sebastien Blood watches and complains that the only thing that his ally accomplished was reigniting Arrow's killing spree. Officer Daily comes in and tells his superior that there's been a development with the test subjects. Blood dons his mask and goes to the test chamber, where all of the subjects have died... except one. The survivor, Brother Cyrus, says that he feels strong, and Blood says that he's ready. After the trial, Moira leaves the courthouse and gets a limo ride home. However, she soon realizes that the driver is taking her somewhere else. The driver pulls into an empty parking lot and says that he had orders to bring her there. A crossbow bolt shoots out of the darkness, killing the driver, and Malcolm steps forward. He explains that he faked his death, but then came back "convinced" the jury to find Moira not guilt. When she wonders why he returned, Malcolm explains that after he saw how easily she lied on the stand about their "brief" affair, he wondered if she had lied to him as well. He then tells Moira that he obtained a blood sample and ran a test... and confirmed that Thea is his biological daughter. Cast Main Cast Members *Stephen Amell as Oliver Queen *Katie Cassidy as Dinah Laurel Lance *Susanna Thompson as Moira Queen *Willa Holland as Thea Queen *Colton Haynes as Roy Harper *Manu Bennett as Deathstroke *Emily Bett Rickards as Felicity Smoak *Paul Blackthorne as Detective Quentin Lance (Credited Only) *David Ramsey as John Diggle Recurring Cast Members *Celina Jade as Shado *Caity Lotz as Sara Lance *John Barrowman as Malcolm Merlyn *Seth Gabel as Count Vertigo *Kevin Alejandro as Brother Blood *Dylan Neal as Anthony Ivo *Teryl Rothery as Jean Loring *Michael Eklund as Dollmaker *Graham Shiels as Solomon Grundy *Jimmy Jean Louis as The Captain *Dylan Bruce as Adam Donner *Chelah Horsdal as Kate Spencer *Keri Adams as Bethany Snow *Ron Selmour as The Butcher *Jesse Hutch as Officer Daily Guest Stars *Marrett Green as TV Reporter *Jojo Ahenkorah as Albie *Tony Alcantar as Pharmacist *Craig Blair as Guard 2 *Jason Day as Guard 1 *David Franco as Judge Mandlebaum *Chantele Francis as Court Clerk *Raugi Yu as Asian Driver Notes *Coming Soon Trivia *Coming Soon Links *http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3213864/?ref_=tt_ep_nx *http://arrow.wikia.com/wiki/State_v._Queen *http://dc.wikia.com/wiki/Arrow_(TV_Series)_Episode:_State_v._Queen *http://www.greenarrowtv.com/arrow-episode-guide-state-v-queen-season-2-episode-7 Episode 07